Lidercom Meeting: Communication Chiefs new roles

What are the new roles communication leaders have in a divided world? To answer this question, Aberje invited top corporate communication executives to Lidercom Meeting, that happened in November, at Hotel Pullman in São Paulo. Lidercom was created in the beginning of 2016 as a means to foster dialogue and networking. Since then, the group has met heads such as Richard Edelman, Roberto Setubal and José Luciano Penido.

The keynote speaker was Raul Velloso, economic adviser and newspaper columnist at O Estado de São Paulo and O Globo. He talked about the Brazilian economy and highlighted three main issues: public sector mismanagement and aversion to privatization; lack of a definite economic model and the attempt to change the current model, which ended in a serious crisis; and the chronic fiscal crisis in Brazil. “Our budget deficit is absurd. The government is betting it all on PEC55 (an amendment to the law that will limit public expenditure) and Social Security reform”.

In this particular case, Velloso sees a flaw in communication, which made the public opinion turn against the PEC. “It is one simple rule: public expenditure cannot surpass inflation. Good communication is paramount. Without it, the government will fail”.

Compliance and communication

The legal context in Brazil and its reflection in communication was the topic presented by Helcio Honda, Fiesp Legal Affairs Director. In his opinion, compliance committees are key factors in companies, and need strong leadership to work. Adolfo Corujo, Talent, Organization and Inovation General Director at Llorente y Cuenca, presented the CEO2020: a project already in action in Spain, which aims to gather CEOs to collaborate and exchange information about their challenges, legacies and trajectories.

Within the same innovation theme, Gil Giardelli, co-founder at 5 ERA, explained how the new technologies are reshaping communication and economy, and how this ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ is affecting our society.

“PR is 90% what you do and 10% what you talk about”, said Roger Bolton, President at Arthur W. Page Society, quoting his patron’s principles, the bedrocks of the profession. He put a particular emphasis, together with AWP Vice President Bjorn Edwnd, on the role of the CCO in revising a company’s mission, values and culture to fit its principles.

“CEO Talks: Communication Challenges” was the closing talk. Paula Bellizia, President of Microsoft in Brazil and Luiz Lara, CEO of advertising agency Lew’LaraTDWA, with Malu Weber, Global Head of Corporate Communication and Corporate Brand at Votorantim Cimentos as a facilitator, agreed that the new CEO needs to be open, have a good relationship with his internal audience and external stakeholders, mainly by social media.